Litter is a serious problem that causes significant environmental and social impacts. Littering is not new, but plastic litter is a serious concern because of its abundance and longevity. Measures to tackle litter have been in place for many years, yet people and organisations still litter Action is needed by institutions at EU, national and local level Current strategies and plans to deal with litter are of limited scope due to the limited competences of the organisations involved. Further, the measures adopted are often limited in their implementation. This briefing proposes a hierarchical approach to tackling litter firstly implementing a suite of measures to prevent or reduce it secondly measures to remove it thirdly measures to reduce the harm/impact of the litter that remains, such as ensuring use of material which are not long lasting in the environment. This integrates with the waste hierarchy and recognises the real world problem that litter is waste over which no one has control, and which is not addressed by the waste hierarchy.